Behind Every Great Man
by dr.fanta
Summary: There is a woman. Severus Snape has two of those in his life, though he doesn't quite know it. This is the story of Megghan Cromwell, an unusual witch with even more unusual tastes in men. Much better than it sounds, seriously. DH Compliant. SeverusxOC
1. Prologue

**Author's Note::** Half this story takes place before any of them became Death Eaters, just so you know. I'd like to think that they acted much differently when they were younger, and before they had to commit any of the crimes that the Dark Lord put them up to. That doesn't mean that any of the characters will suddenly become campy or whatever, just that their outlook on things will be slightly different. First chapter will be in first person, everything after this will be in third.

This entire story will be completely DH compliant, for everyone's information. As much as I adore Severus, I don't think there was any way to avoid that incident of which I loathe to speak of and acknowledge.

That being said, I hope you leave reviews for me. :3 This is just the prologue, so don't fret! Chapter one will be coming up right after! I loooooooove reviews, and my writing is rusty, so any and all handy hints you may or may not want to hand over to me would be appreciated. Love you all and hope you enjoy!

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This story begins in a very unassuming way, in a mostly unassuming room. Well, I take that back, any room in the Malfoy manor is incredibly intimidating and so far from unassuming it's ridiculous. It did start that way though, with an average card game..

Cissy had invited me over to play cards at her fiance's house, since she was practically living there full time now simply for the reason that she wanted to keep an eye on Lucius. She loved him, but it would be folly to trust him and his roving eyes around other females. Her mother and his parents had agreed. So we were here, in one of the many dens of Malfoy Manor, playing poker. Generically speaking, it's a muggle thing, but don't ever tell Bella that, she takes offense.

"Megghan.......it's your bid," She ordered automatically after placing her cards on the table, I was absentmindedly thinking about something at the moment, so she felt the need to snap her fingers in my face and make me jump. Blinking, I frowned, looking around at the two Black sisters in bewilderment, then down to my cards. With a nod, I laid them out with pursed lips.

"This is good....right?" I asked, unsure of myself. I'm not much of a card player like Bella and Cissy are, though I do love muggle Blackjack and roulette tables. In answer of my question, Bella apparently found it appropriate to huff and throw her cards down in frustration. I'd been having beginners luck all evening, and apparently this hand was no different from the past four. She scrutinized me, raising an eyebrow and then standing up abruptly to pat me down, much to my surprise. "Wha---Bellatrix! What in Merlin's name are you doing!?"

She frowned, standing back upright and holding her chin. Like this, I realized that while not as pretty as Narcissa, she did cut a stunning figure. I'll never know what she saw in that Lestrange boy she was dating right now. He was brutish, and had none of her more aristocratic features.

"Well then....seems you aren't cheating….pity. I wanted to play a penalty game……would've made you go hit on Abraxas," she regarded, shrugging her shoulders playfully and giving me one of her naughty smirks.

Rolling my eyes, I wondered why I adored my friends so much. They're really a silly lot. Ever since we were children, and Bellatrix and I had declared 'I don't like you' to each other's faces upon meeting one another, the Black sisters and I had been neigh inseparable. I'd been crushed to find out that Bella was older than us and wouldn't be attending all of our years at Hogwarts together, and she'd made it up to me by catching an alley cat and putting a bow on it to cheer me up. But in the present, she was shoving my shoulder with a smile all the while Cissy laughed, until someone put their hands over my eyes and made the lights go out.

"Oi! Lucy, get off!" I demanded, batting away the unmistakably male hands that were covering my face only to turn and see a bewildered Severus handing Lucius five galleons. Lucius, looking somewhat smug as usual, only ruffled my hair like he'd been doing since Hogwarts, much to my chagrin. Severus though seemed to be the only one who caught on, and shaking himself out of being shocked, gave Lucius a deliciously wicked smile.

"Lucy? You let a woman call you by a feminine endearment?" he teased, his voice sarcastic as always as he walked around the chair to stand on my right side. It was funny for a moment to see Lucius pale, but then his eyes became uncharacteristically cold, something that had been happening per his father's tutelage more often than I'd like lately. With a sneer, he turned from playfully cajoling his friends to something much colder and darker in a matter of moments. I cannot say I liked this slow transformation in him, as I'm sure his father was pushing him towards it as the Dark Lord became an ever more prevalent figure in their household, but oddly enough no one else seemed to notice as he slipped back on the mask of his usual playful self.

Growing up with the Dark Lord in our lives constantly, I cannot say it ever bothered me much. The Cromwell family never heard much from the Dark Lord, since they were mostly neutral and kept to their stables and Gaelic magic in Ireland. Father had been approached twice by Death Eaters when I was younger, but upon explaining that he was training his only child, regrettably a daughter, to take over the family business he was otherwise unable to make time to tame the magical beasts the Dark Lord wanted to use to his advantage. They had left back then, both times they'd approached us, without so much as a Crucio in their wake.

Lucius had grown up with it as well, though his father was much more eager to push him into being a Death Eater no matter how bright a future he might have had at the Ministry. Bellatrix and Narcissa were much the same, though their parents muggle-hating fervor was much more subdued when it came to pushing their children into being Death Eaters. At present, none of us were yet, save for Lucius undergoing his 'trial period' to determine whether or not he was loyal to the cause, which really meant if he was brainwashed enough to follow Voldemort into the depths of hell for a reward he probably would never get. Severus was considering it, though I never thought it was a good idea. Severus was so kind and noble, and so incredibly brave, but his heart was wounded badly. He hadn't shared his personal pain with anyone but myself, and while I felt honored and so much closer to him for it, I knew it was something that would push him over.

"You're always staring off into space, Maggie……I wonder what you're thinking about sometimes…..you just missed the entire argument between Lucius and Bell," a soft, gentle voice that could only belong to Cissy informed me, snapping me out of any and all thoughts. Severus, still towering above me, nodded with a frown. I felt a small tug in my head, and glared up at him and his clumsy Legilimency skills. He was getting better, and was already a skilled Occlumens, but you could still tell when he was trying to figure out what was going on in your head. Elbowing him in the side of his gut, I huffed, crossing my arms in the chair.

"Nothing of much importence…..just thinking about how things are changing, that's all….what were they arguing about this time?" I feigned indifference, but at the last moment I must've have let my eyes give it away, as Cissy just smiled at my natural curiosity and Severus managed a small smirk. Sweeping around me to take Bella's abandoned seat, he folded his hands delicately in his lap.

"His nickname. Bellatrix thought it would be a good idea to tease him further about it…..obviously Lucius disagreed," he informed me with a solemn nod, some of his midnight black hair falling into his face. I blushed and looked away to hide this.

You see, the one thing I haven't divulged yet is that by this time I was more than enamored with Severus Snape. His aristocratic features, his pale skin, his tall stature that seemed to block any and all horrible things from getting you when he stood near you, the way he was slowly beginning to gain confidence and a sort of swagger to his step. The air of command he was quickly getting from working his potions apprenticeship and being put in charge of all the others due to his natural skill, even his greasy hair didn't bother me much, since I knew it was because of all those fumes in a potioneer's lab doing it to him, nor did I mind his nose though I did tease him about it from time to time.

I was irrevocably his, not that anyone knew, and that is where our story really begins.


	2. Ch 1:: Dangerous Trio

**Disclaimer::**

I do not own anything from Harry Potter, wizard, witch, magical creature or otherwise.

I DO own the Cromwell family respectively, and all the creative liberties that come along with them. We're just going to pretend they're one of those well-known pureblood families, so you're going to have to give me liberties there. I'll explain the family better in later chapters, but bear with this childhood fluff for a moment.

Enjoy!

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A nervous little girl was standing on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place with her father. Looking down at her, the man only smiled, and patted her messy deep auburn curls, if only to reassure her that things would be alright. The girl's mother was already inside the house, and had been for a while now, chatting with her friend Walburga Black. This was an important meeting for the little girl, and well she knew. The door opened with a creek and a groan of complaint from the old house, only to reveal a crooked old House Elf with a surly expression on its face until it looked to see who was calling.

"Mr. Cromwell, and little Missus, the Lady's been expecting you…..come on then, little sprite, go cause trouble with all the other little tripes. Your wife and the Lady are waiting for you in the drawing room, sir, just follow Kreacher, he can get you there," the crotchety old elf advised, opening the door wide for the pair to step inside, and leaving the little girl to her own devices in the main hallway while leading her father off. She waved to him goodbye, and he smiled back at her and blew a kiss as he turned a corner off out of sight. Biting her lip, the little girl looked in the mirror that happened to be in the hallway, and frowned, straightening out her forest green velvet skirt and brushing off stray dust. Little cerulean eyes stared back at her, the blue of them mixing into a pale green as she became more and more nervous just standing there.

Mother had always said it had come from her side of the family, something called a….a…..meta-something, she knew. She'd forgotten what the full word was, but somewhere back in her mother's family there'd been a person that could change their appearance at will, and as the generations had passed the talent had dwindled down into everyone in the family having color changing eyes. It was like having a mood ring plastered on your face, really. But those eyes of hers were a pretty contrast with her father's deep auburn hair. You could tell it was red, but it was so deep a red one could say it was only a few shades lighter than black, and as it caught the light the traditional red highlights shone through. Normally, the little girl wouldn't be sizing up her looks like this since Papa always said she was his beautiful little princess, but her mother had told her about the little girls that would be over today.

Cousins of the Black boys that actually lived here, apparently two girls were coming over today as well, and Megghan was to do her best to become friends with them. Her father had assured her that if she didn't like playing with them she wouldn't really have to, but her mother was always the one who put more emphasis on social standing, especially since the main manor was so far away in Ireland. Her mother always felt the need to make lasting political and social relationships with people here in England, seeing as her family was from London respectively. Truthfully, Megghan would much rather be playing with some of the newborn magical creatures back at Papa's stables than play with some girls. But, she aimed to please her mother, whom never seemed satisfied that her daughter was becoming more and more like her father every day.

While she thought about these things and scrutinized herself, another reflection popped up in the mirror. It was a girl a little older than her, maybe ten, and had some of the most beautiful if not a bit unruly raven hair that the little girl had ever seen. Her eyes were almost black they were so deep brown, and seemed warm, like baked chocolate, beckoning you to come closer while at the same time warning you that it was hot to the touch. Her skin was pale, paler even than Megghan's own, and without the little Irish girl's abundance of facial freckles. There wasn't a blemish on the girl that could be seen, and her completely black dress didn't poof out in the back the same way that Megghan's did, which made her instantly envious that this girl got to wear something simple but pretty. But suddenly, the black-haired girl in the mirror's expression turned into a sort of cross between a truly displeased frown and a stubborn pout.

"I don't like you. You look funny, and you only want to play with us because they tell you to," she stated, voice clipped and authoritative. It wasn't even a question that Megghan was only here because her mother was forcing her, just a statement that the odd raven-haired girl was making. She frowned in response, turning with a pout and crossing her arms.

"I don't like you much either, then. I could be playing with the new hippogriff hatchlings right now, but Mama made me come play GIRL games with you….I don't want to play with silly dolls and a rude prat," she retorted, nodding her head definitively and stomping down the hallway, only to be slightly disturbed by the long line of mounted House Elf heads leading to the stairs. She made sure to make QUITE a noise as she stomped up those stairs to make sure her mother and father were aware that she was VERY displeased to be here. She wondered what Sirius was doing.

Papa had invited him and his baby brother Regelus over once or twice to see some of the foals of the Hippogriffs and Winged Horses, since it had seemed like a boy-themed activity. Megghan had tagged along and found it hilarious when an Aethonan Foal had back-kicked Sirius in the gut when he'd tried to tug on its baby feathers. Sirius had not thought so, and so took every opportunity to tug on Megghan's hair when he could. But he wasn't that bad a sort. At least she could play with him and rough house without anyone noticing she wasn't playing house with the girls. But alas, as she reached the second landing another little girl popped up out of nowhere, causing her to fall on her backside in shock.

This one seemed much more docile than the first, but regrettably for Megghan's self confidence, even more stunning.

This one was a stark contrast to her older sister, and seemed to be about eight, a year older than Meghann and Sirius. Her hair was a brilliant golden color, her eyes a clear crystal blue. Her skin was the only thing similar to her sisters, as both were unblemished, but while the black haired girl had been pale, this girl had a peach-colored tint to her. Her pink lips made a delicate 'O' of shock as she looked at the girl she'd bumped into on the ground, and she knelt down to make sure Megghan was alright. The Cromwell girl could understand immediately that this girl was much nicer than the other, and maybe she didn't have to dislike her IMMEDIATELY after all. Though she figured it would be, when the girl finally spoke her voice was just as beautiful and soft as the rest of her.

"You're not hurt are you? I'm sorry….I wasn't looking where I was going….that dreadfull Sirius was pulling on my hair, he almost lit it with a match! I don't know how anyone can stand boys at all…..they're dreadful, and I hope I never have to marry one, like mother says," she explained, making Megghan's usual firey temper calm for a moment and sympathize with the girl. She smiled at this angelic-like figure, and nodded, sitting up straight and inspecting the curl of hair that was indeed partially singed.

With a frown, Megghan almost regretted doing this to her, and promptly took the end of the curl with one hand, and pinching a little higher up with the other, and tore it as neatly as she could. The girl she was doing it to simply gasped at the horror that was someone torturing her hair in such a way, and pouted delicately as fake alligator tears crested her long eyelashes. Inwardly, Megghan sighed. This must be the kind of girl her father always told her not to grow up to be, the kind that just made pretty faces and cried to get her way.

"Oh hush. I was only taking the burnt part off. It's not like your Mum can't use a charm to cut it straight…..even Papa knows how to do that. He does it for me alllllllllll the time when one of the animals starts chewing on my hair back home. The hellhound puppies like doing it most, though," she said informatively, which caught the little girl's attention immediately. What little girl didn't want to know more about puppies? With interest, she leaned forward as if it were some kind of secret to be kept from the ears of others.

"You own puppies?"

Megghan nodded and spread her arms as large as she could. "Large puppies. Most of them have one or two heads, but a couple of them have three. Papa says they chew on things because they're teething, like a baby……..my name is Megghan Cromwell," she explained, extending her hand in a sort of silent apology and request for returned friendship. The golden haired girl obliged happily, and they stood up together with smiles on their faces, giggling all the while at the circumstances. Wiping some of the fake tears from her eyes, the golden haired girl bowed a little, her hair tumbling over her shoulders as she did so.

"I'm Narcissa Black. My sister, Bellatrix, is around here somewhere. We have a big sister too, Andromeda, but she's off at school at Hogwarts. She's graduating this year, isn't that exciting? I can't wait to go too. Are you going to Hogwarts Megghan?" she introduced herself politely, then immediately looked up with excitement and a childish curiosity and pride in her voice. Lacing her arm with Megghan's as if they were dear old friends like she'd seen her mother do with HER friends before, Narcissa led Megghan down the hallway to the room she was playing in.

Megghan only nodded with a smile, happily holding onto Narcissa's arm in childish companionship, her instant aversion to Bellatrix completely forgotten, along with her determination to not like the pair of sisters and not play with them despite her mothers wishes.

"Papa says when I turn eleven, I will. I'm only seven now though, so I have to wait a little longer. Papa says I'll do well in Care of Magical Creatures though, since **everyone **in our family does well in that subject. He's teaching me to take care of lots of different animals, because I'm an only child, even though I'm not a boy like grandpa wanted. Mama doesn't really approve, but it's lots of fun! Oh! Maybe……maybe when our dogs are having puppies again you can come over and play with them, and even take one home!" she offered excitedly as they entered the room, only to find a young Sirius burning the hair of one of Narcissa's porcelain dolls. Funny, how they looked almost exactly like Narcissa herself.

Sirius brightened considerably upon seeing Megghan with Narcissa, and not Bellatrix.

"Maggie! Have you come over to play? Regelus is sleeping so mother told me to keep quiet, so I found some matches!" he beamed with pride, taking out the matchbox to show Megghan his prize while his other hand clutched the doll with the singed black hair.

Narcissa was completely mortified and gasped, letting go of Megghan's arm and letting loose a loud wail that put Megghan in shock. She hadn't thought that Narcissa was capable of such a loud sound, she was so delicate and pretty, especially not this caterwauling. Consequently, she glared accusingly at Sirius for breaking her new friend and tromped over to snatch the matches away and knock him upside the head.

"What!? I didn't do anything! Cissy came into MY house, demanding that I play _GIRLY_ things with her just because she's older! I thought we'd have fun when you came over because you're…..well…..you're kinda…." he dwindled off, attempting to find the least insulting way to put what he was thinking into words, which only made Maggie seethe loathing for him and give him a pointed glare, lighting one of the matches herself and holding it dangerously close to the edge of his sleeve while holding his arm out roughly.

"I'm **WHAT**, Sirius? You made Cissy cry," she accused, as if he'd committed the worst crime in history by offending both girls at once. Sirius just gaped at her dumbly, his mouth hung open in disbelief. Maggie was supposed to be HIS friend.

Granted, they'd only played together a couple times at her family stables, but they'd had fun. **Boy** fun. Getting dirty and laughing when their mothers scolded them for it fun. In a huff, he jerked his arm out from Maggie's grasp and stomped out of the room and up the stairs to the third floor where his own room was, shoving Cissy out of the way and onto the floor as he did so. Letting out a yell of frustration of his own, he threw up his hands and continued up the stairs.

"Bloody girls! This is bollocks!" he lamented, partially glad his parents were allll the way downstairs and couldn't hear him say things he wasn't allowed to yet. A pair of darker than dark chocolate eyes watched him go curiously, a frown on her pale features, and walked into the room to find Maggie with her younger sister, Narcissa, scrambling over to her and attempting to comfort her while holding the damaged doll.

"It's okay Cissy, you'll see! Papa will fix her! I promise, so don't cry okay? Sirius is just a boy, and boys are stupid so don't ever cry over a silly boy, because Mama says that means he's won," she was hurriedly consoling, rubbing Narcissa's back as the girl hiccupped her tears away, looking over ruefully at her new companion.

"…..really?" she sniffed, to which Megghan smiled and nodded. All the while, Bellatrix was staring at the pair from the doorway, half insulted that someone else was able to console Cissy in her time of need, and half happy. Maybe this new playmate wasn't here to JUST please her parents. Bellatrix had been wrong about things before, even if she didn't admit it out loud, granted she was only ten and didn't know everything like she said she did. Coming into the room and flopping into a sitting position on Narcissa's other side, she took her sisters hand protectively and looked across at Megghan with a stubborn pout but an apologetic look in her eyes.

"Maybe you're not THAT bad…..if Cissy likes you, then you're alright….." she huffed, holding out her hand unceremoniously in truce. Maggie stared at it a moment, considering her options, then blinked twice and took Bella's hand with a small nod and a smile. Playing with them wouldn't be so bad, now that she thought about it. She'd never had any friends that were girls before, maybe they could do other things that she couldn't do with Sirius? He'd never seemed particularly interested in decorating cookies with her grandmother, for instance.

Just as they'd finished their truce, both Mrs. Black and Maggie's mother and father came tromping up the stairs and collected at the door, concern on their faces because of Narcissa's wailing. Mrs. Black was first to recover from the scene of the three girls huddled up together, two of them consoling the third while holding a half-burnt doll in their hands and promising to fix it. With a frown, she put her hands on her hips angrily.

"What exactly has happened up here, ladies?" she demanded, making both Cissy and Maggie flinch at the word 'ladies' because the adults only called them that when they expected something out of you. Bellatrix was the first to pipe up with a scowl to equal her aunts.

"Sirius was being a prat, and got hold of some matches. He was burning Cissy's dolls until Maggie came and stopped him," she tattled easily, her voice accusing and harsh, as if it was the adults fault for not keeping an eye on stupid old Sirius. Which in Bellatrix's mind, was entirely the case, and shocked the adults into mild silence. Recovering from that, Maggie's parents both came into the room as Walburga tromped up the stairs ranting and raving at her oldest son already and causing all sorts of displeased noises. Maggie almost felt bad for him.

Almost.

He _had_ made Cissy cry after all, and Maggie decided that Cissy was too pretty to cry, and looked to her parents desperately for something to alleviate the burden of her loss of a doll. Her mother smiled graciously, a polite but all around cold gesture, and took the doll from Cissy's hands.

"Kreacher!" she called, her voice sweet and even-tempered, after all, it hadn't been _her _child that had caused this ruckus. In fact, she was vaguely pleased that Megghan had ingratiated herself with Narcissa, as that was the only way anyone ever got along with Bellatrix. The elf popped up to the room in a flash, and examined the doll, taking it from Mrs. Cromwell silently with a nod.

"Kreacher will fix the young Missus's doll, right away Mam," he promised, bowing his head. Megghan and Narcissa smiled at him at the same time, their heads touching as they looked at him.

"Thank you, Kreacher," they said in unison, to which the old elf only looked at them in shock for a moment, until a determined glint in his eye arose. Determined to please the young girls, he bowed to them and disappeared with a 'pop'. Megghan's father knelt down on one knee to put himself a little above eye level with the girls and smiled, ruffling his daughter's hair and giving both Narcissa and Bellatrix a warm pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, your aunt will give Sirius his scolding. Don't hold it against him though, boys are a little restless, you know. One day you'll find them less unappealing, I'm sure," he smiled knowingly, to which all three girls only wrinkled their noses in disgust and disbelief. As her parents left, her father conjured a rocking flying horse for them to sit on and a few other toys. Narcissa made her way over to it and even knowing she was too old, hopped on happily, giggling as the soft downy wings of the toy horse fluttered, making itself rock back and forth gently without Cissy's help.

Bellatrix frowned and sat on the windowseat, watching Cissy and Maggie, whom was reading a picture book where all the characters moved through the story. Clearing her throat to get the other two girls attention, she crossed her arms defiantly.

"I don't want to have to deal with stupid boys like Sirius ever……lets all make a promise to _never _like boys, no matter what any silly adult says," she offered, to which both younger girls nodded, leaving the toys they were playing with behind to come stand near Bella. Putting both their hands in, they waited for the eldest to put hers on top, and as she did so they finished their promise.

Smiling, Cissy looked at the two of them as if an idea had struck her.

"We'll never ever like any boys, and _ESPECIALLY_ ones that the other two don't like. Let's promise to be best friends always, no matter what! Bella and I don't have many friends really, so you'll be our BEST friend Maggie," she beamed, as if it were the latest stroke of genius for the century. And as many other young girls before them, and many young girls after them, the three promised to stay friends always and never like any boys for whatever reason.

It would have been one of those adorable heartwarming scenes, had a particular little boy not been forced to come down and apologize, and if that particular little boy hadn't brought his training broom with him and a bucket of water that he obtained through questionable resources. Before the three could do anything about it, Sirius doused all of them, dropped the bucket, and zoomed off on his child's broom cackling to the high heavens with unbridled laughter at his brilliant revenge. Sopping wet, all three girls fumed with anger and stormed after him, yelling various phrases, all of which were not very ladylike and not very appropriate for their age.

Little did they know their relationship with Sirius was not likely to change in the coming years, but in this way the dangerous trio was formed, determining the courses of their lives indefinitely. They would become neigh inseparable during these early years, never knowing the minute they stepped on that highly anticipated Platform 9 ¾ they'd slowly grow apart over the very boys they'd promised never to like on this day.

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**AN::**

Okay, so yes, this had NOTHING to do with Severus. But it's important for their upbringing anyways, just for the sake of explaining how the three of them came to be friends and what their dynamic is. I felt the need to put a foreshadowing for the next chapter, so that explains the cryptic ending for this one. :3

Also, the reasons for Megghan knowing all this magical creature business will be revealed in the next chapter, and more so as she ages and learns more about it herself. I found an EXCELLENT recource for all this information via the Harry Potter Lexicon, so all information I spout on here goes to them or my own Irish heritage that my family has told me many folklore stories from.

I hope you guys liked it, and please review! It makes the plot bunnies in my head work doubletime and post things faster.


	3. Ch 2:: What The ?

**Author's Note:: **Hello again, for anyone out there.

HOMIGOD *spazz out*

The person whom inspired me to write in the first place [insert username here], left me a review.

*glares at the masses* Why aren't YOU guys leaving me reviews? Lol. I kid, and also as a side note do not own Harry Potter or any of its subsidiaries.

I DO in fact own Megghan and her family, so no touchy touchy. / Or Bella will bite your hand off and feed it to Nagini. I hope you enjoy this installment, and I promise you it starts picking up more here.

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This was it. It was that miraculous day that that Megghan had been waiting for. Last year she'd had to send off Narcissa AND Bellatrix, as if having to send Bella off by herself wasn't hard enough the first time, and left without her lady-like companions she had thusly become infinitely unruly. She was more 'wild creature' now than 'young lady' though her eyes still shone brightly with joy as she spotted familiar poweder blond hair standing morosely by herself. Narcissa was twelve now, and had only gotten prettier as the years had gone by. Megghan could tell that Cissy would be a great beauty someday, simply timeless and perfect in everything she did.

Creeping silently up behind the youngest Black sister as if she was stalking a stray kelpie that had gotten loose from the family lock, it was a shock to everyone in the vicinity around Narcissa when Megghan lept from behind, knocking the poor girl down in a bear hug that could break bones if she had more muscle on her. Burying her face into Narcissa's shoulder, she was half laughing, half mourning.

"Cisssssyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! You leeeeeeeeeeeft meeeeeeeee. I had no one to torment with my endless tomfoolery!" she whined, picking her head up only to look Narcissa in the face to make a point. Honestly, she looked a bit ridiculous with a kicked puppy look on her face, now that she'd grown. When she was younger, it had worked better for her, but now? No, Narcissa Black silently accessed her best friend as the girl kept going on and on about how much she missed Cissy. Oh, and Bella too, as an afterthought. Completely ignoring the people around them that were watching in utter shock that someone would DARE touch a pureblood witch in such an unseemly manner, especially in PUBLIC, Megghan had both changed and stayed timelessly wonderful all at the same time.

She was taller, that was obvious. While Narcissa had towered over her last year a full three inches, Megghan was now the one curled around her, her legs longer and sturdier because of the long days running and working with her father. She was leaner, gone was all the baby fat of yester-years, leaving a sleeker, more refined version of its body. By lord, her hair had turned into an unruly mane without Cissy around to fuss with it, and was held back by a stretchy leather strap of all things, in lieu of a more feminine headband. If anything, it looked like Megghan had gotten it out of the stables, which in all honesty she probably had. A few of the freckles on her face were starting to fade, and the fleeting thought crossed Narcissa's mind that she might have mild competition in the looks department from someone other than her sister for once. Megghan was far from a stunning, classic beauty like the Black sisters, but she was fairly pretty. From a good family too. Blinking in shock, Narcissa found herself vaguely disgusted with her last thought.

The fleeting expression didn't go unnoticed by her fiesty companion though, and Megghan immediately stopped her pandering to Narcissa's ego and frowned, standing up fluidly and hoisting Narcissa up as if she were the gentleman. This didn't avoid the attention of a particular Fifth year that was standing around in the group that was just watching the scene unfold. Narcissa had told him, at length, of Megghan Cromwell before, but he'd never really believed that the girl could be so dynamic yet at times uncannily in control. He'd keep an eye on this one, for sure. It was always fun to break the feisty ones, especially if it would make a certain Little Miss Too-Cute-For-You Black chase him instead of the other way around as it had been this previous year.

"Cissy, love….what's wrong? You shouldn't frown, you know, you'll get wrinkles and then who will want to look at your pretty face anymore? They'll all say, "Eeeew, look, it's that Narcissa Black girl, isn't she married yet? No? Oh, must be the atrocious wrinkles,"" Megghan both inquired and teased at the same time, earning a fond smile and tiny chuckle from Narcissa. Maggie beamed. She believed it was one of he three sole purposes in life to make Narcissa Black smile. She hadn't figured out what the other two were yet, but Grandda had always said good things always come in threes. Narcissa shook her head, loosing some tendrils from her updo, and looked Megghan up and down with fake disdain.

"Oh come now, we all know you're going to be the one holding the 'old maid' card. One day your name will come up in conversation and someone will ask "Isn't that Cromwell girl married to a good wizard yet?" and I'll have to inform them that no, unfortunately you seemed to have turned into some wild creature that dances with werewolves, and dates Muggle men in their forties who live at home with their mothers because you can push them around," she retorted, ensuring that Megghan laughed for a good full minute at both the satirical value and the accuracy of personality. She had kept to her word, the promise from years ago. While her mother had encouraged her to meet a few pureblooded boys, and even a few half-bloods from good family lines, she'd refused every time.

She didn't want to give everything she had to another person. At least anyone who wasn't Cissy or Bella, anyways. For them, she would go to the edges of the world and back, but no man would dictate her life. It was already silently agreed upon between her father and grandfather that she would carry on the family business of taming and selling magical creatures both rare and mundane. Generations of Cromwells had done it before her, and generations after would as well. While her male family members were strongly behind this theory, her mother and aunts hadn't given up on pairing her with a good man yet and making her into a 'fine lady' who wore dresses instead of short tanned leather jackets, green turtlenecks, and working boots and breeches like she was now.

If anything, beside Narcissa at this moment, she truly looked like she was a part of Black family staff, here to hoist Cissy's trunks onto the train for Hogwarts instead of boarding it herself. Though through all this, she'd realized that Narcissa had not answered her question. It vexed her, as did many things that were kept hidden, her natural curiosity amplifying her sincere concern for Cissy's cares and worries. With a stuborn pout, she decided she'd find out what it was one way or another, but for now, she had a group of people staring at her oddly. Raising an eyebrow, she motioned over to the upperclassmen that Narcissa had actually been standing near, listening to their conversation when this whole fiasco took place.

"Who are they, and why do they think they're allowed to stare at you for extended periods of time?" she demanded, almost like an overprotective father with a shotgun in hand for anyone who came near his daughter. A larger, muscled Fifth year puffed up and decided he'd take lead, much to the chagrin of the pair of steel-blue eyes that had been summing up this entire thing.

"We're her fellow Slytherin housemates. Narcissa fits right in with the rest of us, so we don't need any goody goody Gryffindors prancing around like they own her," he informed, going for intimidating but really looking more like a puffed up rhino with bad sideburns and attempting to grow a scraggly beard. Maggie was not to be intimidated, even by someone four years older than herself, Bella had taught her that much at least. Walking straight up to him she frowned, glaring at him mercilessly.

"And who, SPECIFICALLY, might you be? Unless you'd like me to address you as 'peon', which quite frankly works out just fine for me," she challenged, carrying off intimidating much better than he had, even though she was much smaller, and was posed much like an effeminate Peter Pan. He grimaced for a moment, and then growled deep in his throat, which cracked a little at the end just loud enough for Megghan to hear. Ha. Silly boys and their changing vocal chords.

"Rabastan Lestrange. You best learn your place, brat. You don't want to mess with our group, we're the top of Slytherin house," he bellowed, as if saying it louder would make him more frightening. Megghan was unperturbed, and Narcissa was silently standing next to the platinum blonde fifth year she'd told so much about Maggie to. Shaking her head, she sighed.

"He'll be lucky if she doesn't haul off and punch him in the jaw….from what I've heard of her recent encounters with cousin Sirius, she's developed quite 'an arm', " she muttered, looking up woefully to the older boy, whom only raised a manicured eyebrow and smirked. He nodded, thinking to himself how fun it would be to see someone deck Rudolphus for a) thinking he could ursurp Lucius's authority in the group and act as leader in front of this fresh meat, and b) completely overlooking the potential for trouble and mayhem in this one that could quite possibly be beneficial to their little circle. His father had always taught him to be on a wary lookout for potential rivals and enemies, and befriend them as quickly as possible so you can keep track of them better. Apparently Rudolphus hadn't gotten the memo, or he was just stupid. Lucius suspected the latter.

With a huff, Megghan crossed her arms, and snubbed part one of the Lestrange brothers, flashing him a very rude and unladylike hand gesture she'd picked up from Sirius, as much as she loathed him now. Apparently, muggles had come up with an ingenious way to say 'sod the hell off' without saying a word.

"Go toss yourself, then, Mr. Lestrange. Cissy, come on! If we don't get a seat soon, there'll be no room for Bell--a….trix?" she started authoritively, her face falling slightly as she saw Bella coming forward to hang onto Lestrange's arm, a fleeting apollogetic look in her eyes that betrayed her allegience to this…..this…..monstrosity of the gene pool. A male. A MALE. Bella was leaving her here, standing alone, against what could POTENTIALLY be people that could ruin her future years at Hogwarts……..for a boy. Maggie went from confused, to hurt, to stunned, to disbelief, to unbridled anger in a matter of seconds, each emotion flashing across her face with her numerous expressions.

Lucius frowned slightly as he saw her look at Narcissa expectantly, as if Cissy would somehow balance out this mini-feud, whatever it was. The Malfoy couldn't understand what was so insulting about a girl hanging onto her boyfriend like a good piece of arm jewelry. Narcissa and Bellatrix BOTH had spoken of how close the three of them were, surely this girl had been told that Bella was dating a Lestrange boy. Narcissa held her ground though, looking guiltily to the ground, as if admitting to something, which only made the Cromwell girl inhale deeply and fight back obvious tears and turn around abruptly without another word to either of them or the group itself. Somehow, the Malfoy felt as if he'd just severely wronged Maggie somehow, just by standing by and letting this happen. He didn't understand why, and it mildly disturbed him that he felt fleeting compassion for a first year that besides being spunky and a way to get to Narcissa, wasn't of any importance yet.

With everything said and done, Megghan was indeed fighting back tears of both shame and hurt, stalking off in the direction of the train and bumping into a quiet, sandy-haired boy on the way. She nodded to him, and he caught her shoulder with a look of concern and a frown.

"Miss….are you alright?" he asked, his voice steady and soft, yet somehow comforting. Maggie shook her head and assumed the position of a fake smile and a noncommittal nod.

"I'm fine, just a bit overwhelmed, well, see you later……Remus? Thanks for asking though!" she chirruped, pausing to look at the nametag on his trunk that he was carrying, and turning tail to flee into the depths of the Hogwarts Express. Quickly the kind boy was forgotten, and she was looking for the farthest reaches in the train where no one would bother her, and no one would ask what was wrong. Unfortunately for her, if you weren't an upperclassman or incredibly pushy, something that normally wouldn't be a problem but she wasn't up to given the circumstances……you kinda got pushed to the back. Where the first years without any noticeable first-impression affiliations got dumped to sit awkwardly and make small talk with people they didn't know and probably didn't WANT to know.

Looking back and forth between compartments, it went from one awkward atmosphere to the next, most of them looking at her troubled expression with the panicked look of 'oh god don't let them sit with us, I don't want to comfort someone I don't know'. Until hers. A fire-bright redhead, .of not much interest really otherwise, could be seen in the next compartment. She was laughing, so obviously she was getting along with whomever she happened to be sitting with…..it seemed so warm, as opposed to how left out and foolish she felt. For once, she was shy, a rare occurrence that Narcissa and Bella would have paid thousands to see, she thought ruefully.

As her hand hovered at the door, a look of utter shame and torment on her features, the door slid open in front of her to the brightest green eyes she'd ever seen. If it had been devotion at first sight for Narcissa, it was just as much so for this girl, except the situation was on the other foot now. Megghan was the one close to tears, and this girl just raised her eyebrows in shock, and ushered her in, sliding the door shut resolutely and waving at the other person in the compartment to close the blinds. This girl was the same age as her, as was the boy she hadn't really looked at in these few moments, she figured.

The girl sat her down by the window and sat close, touching side to side and holding her like they were old friends. It was a strange and different feeling for her, as since the years had gone by with Bellatrix in school, the middle Black sister no longer wanted to do this or show affection publicly anymore. How long would it be before Narcissa tired of her over affectionate ways as well? But this girl was encouraging it, welcoming it even, all with a smile and an understanding look.

"Rough time of it already, huh? Sev had the same problem. It was those horrible boys, oh what were their names…….something and Potter, wasn't it?" she defended, very much like Maggie herself in the effort to jump to conclusions and pick a culprit in which to generally hate on to make someone feel better. It was a good effort, but she had to shake her head in shame and put her forehead on the cool glass of the window, now wanting to really look at the pair, though she glanced the mismatched and slightly dark boy doing the same on the opposite side of the compartment and smiled ruefully at him, to which he responded in kind.

"No….but thanks for the warning, I suppose…….no, this was the worst kind of torture…..the kind that comes from your own friends being dishonest about things, and leaving you to a pack of wolves that go by the name of Slytherin collectively," she muttered back miserably, her shoulders visibly drooping. She'd wanted so badly to be part of Slytherin too. If only Bella or Cissy had backed her up, she'd still have a chance to not be completely a pariah. As she'd grown, she'd come to realize that most girls avoided her and her wild ways, and most boys either wanted to roughhouse or didn't think of her as female. The girl started rubbing her back, almost immediately relaxing Maggie's muscles of the strain as she picked her head up in mild surprise.

"My name is Lily Evans, and this is Severus," the girl who was now known as Lily introduced with a smile, seeming sure that the hardest part for Maggie was over now that she got it out. Maggie looked between her and the boy, Severus. Sizing him up in the short term, he didn't seem like someone who'd hang out with the shining Lily. Grungy, mismatched, sullen looking, everything on him seemed a little too big here or a little too small here. He looked plain uncomfortable under Megghan's scrutinizing and curious looks, but he sat there and took it while she stared openly.

His hair was darker than dark, just as much as Bella's, and his skin was kind of sallow and sickly pale, as if he were malnourished. As he moved a sleeve, she noticed a fleeting glimpse of a bruise in…..was that the shape of a hand? Had those boys Lily'd mentioned earlier grabbed him that hard? She frowned, giving an tiny, unconscious sort that sounded much like a cat or kneazle that has smelled something particularly fragrant and didn't like it much. He twitched at the sound, his eyes flashing up with some sort of defiance in them, as if jumping to the conclusion she was judging him insufficient. Cocking her head slightly to one side, she found herself captivated by those accusing eyes in a most unusual way.

It was a bit unsettling to be honest, but she simply couldn't look away from them. They were deeper than deep, and had an aristocratic sharpness to them that she was sure would demand respect someday, she knew since her grandfather had similar ones. But what really struck her was the vast bottomless depth of them, they were pure black. Not deep brown, like Bell's, but truly black with only a hint of steel-gray and some other fleeting colors the light caught. He made an agitated grunt, and Maggie snapped out of her reverie feeling very confused and unlike herself. She wasn't quite sure she liked it. Ah well, best just to not look him straight in the eyes then, she figured.

"Ah, oh…..sorry…….you looked like you h--……never mind, I didn't mean anything by it…..sorry," she apologized, looking at the place past his ear instead of his eyes again. Turning to Lily she smiled gently, feeling somehow at ease with the girl even quicker than normal, her momentary shyness forgotten.

"I'm Megghan. Megghan Cromwell. It's a pleasure to meet you both!" she nodded, her voice light and airy with the lilting hope of potential new friends at hand. She knew she was secretly getting back at Bell and Cissy on some level, but it WAS always good to make new friends, especially with how sheltered she'd been in Ireland. There wasn't much potential to make a friend there under the age of nineteen or with the ability to talk. The dogs were good for listening though, and always huddled up when you were sad. But upon hearing her name, the boy named Severus perked up a bit with interest and spoke to begin what would be the first in a long line of good conversations between the three of them.

"Cromwell? The Irish Cromwells?"

Megghan nodded proudly, a silly grin on her face, the kind that children get when their parent is the one really getting the praise but they're proud all the same. She found his voice distracting for a moment though, it was sharp but soft from a shy, withdrawn nature. Different in the way that boy from before….what was his name again? Linus? Nemus? Ah, well that wasn't important anyways, it was just…..different. It carried a weight with it that made you want to listen, instead of simply hear. In all this, they hadn't even realized the train had left the station and they were on there way already.

"Papa has a lot of extra hands right now, and he just got a new one since I'm going to Hogwarts, but I'll be taking over someday. If mother lets me, anyways……she's kind of against the whole 'unlady-like image'. She even tried to line up meetings with other families to try and marry me off early to some pureblood idiot who doesn't have an inch of common sense," she remarked, which only spurred more questions from Lily and Severus. Lily especially though, whom seemed to take a very passionate stance against it while Severus took an analytical sense and tried to defend both sides at once.

Most students could tell you how their very first trip to Hogwarts was, exciting, overwhelming, or any other numerous adjectives to describe such a trip. They can tell you what they ate, what house they were already talking about getting into, and even a few friendly hints from some of the nicer upperclassmen about the school. All that Megghan could ever tell you about her first trip to Hogwarts was that it was horribly short, and she wished that they'd been traveling longer. They'd been talking about so many interesting things on the trip there, that she hadn't the time to feel anxious, nervous, upset, or even excited about the actual destination. The three tagged along with one another, which surprised Megghan since she'd learned that Severus and Lily were good friends for years before Hogwarts, living in the same muggle neighborhood. She hadn't expected to find out that a close pair of friends would welcome her so quickly, even Severus had stopped being standoffish after a certain point, and they'd had a few really good debates back and forth about the useage of Kelpie Hooves in potions and when was the best and most moral time to harvest it. Megghan still stood by her view that it crippled them for almost a year if you scraped their hooves for potions ingredients before they were two, but Severus insisted that's when they were most potent. They hadn't spoken the last thirty minutes or so of the trip because of that, though Severus had quietly agreed that Maggie should stay with them until Sorting.

As all the first years muddled into the hall, Maggie was mortified to see that Bella and Cissy were sitting with that group of people again, now with extra additions from the train, though she noticed Cissy was looking around every so often towards the first years. She frowned. She would rather die than sit with them right now. It was much preferable to sit by herself comfortably than have to act like she was sorry to that big lummox that was apparently Bellatrix's boyfriend. In no time at all it seemed, her name was called by the elderly looking woman with a sharp nose that resembled an angry hen and Severus and Lily both ushered her up to get sorted. Taking a steadying breath, she closed her eyes a moment and opened them brave and ready to go, stepping forward to get sorted. Parking her backside on the rickety looking stool she was sure was going to give her bum splinters, she looked over to the first years and smiled at Lily and Severus who gave her nods of well wishes. She knew she and Severus both wanted Slytherin, and Severus had urged Lily earlier to be one too, though Maggie wasn't sure it always worked out that way.

As the old woman put the ratty hat on her head, it made a pondering noise, much to her chagrin. Blowing upwards, she was starting to get quickly irritated that the hat was pushing down her bangs into her face, and poked him a little higher up on her head to remedy the problem, to which he gave a small 'humph' before whispering his evaluation of her in her ear.

"What to do what to do….such an interesting bunch this year…..you have that fool-hardy bravery in you yet I can see it right there, though you don't know it yet. Ah, quick and cunning though, with…..what's this? A sense of loyalty? Strange qualities for someone who desires to be a Slytherin," he murmured to her, to which she bit her lip nervously and whispered back.

"Please let me into Slytherin? My friends are going there, I'm sure of it, and I already have two friends there…..even if I am mad at them a little," she begged softly, the urge to declare Slytherin herself and run over to the Black sisters in celebration bubbling up inside her. The hat grunted, taking her into consideration, and spotting a few more qualities in her head.

"Hmm…..no, no this won't do. Bit trusting but too confident for Hufflepuff, quick enough for Ravenclaw but too quick to act…..a bit hasty, but loyal and cunning…..you could be great, you know, you have the ability to plan and manipulate there inside you, you already know some old dark magics…"

There were a few moments of silence where the world stood still, and the anticipation in her rose, then the hat took a deep breath for all to hear, and bellowed…….

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Maggie jumped up for joy, beaming immediately while her noble table cheered and welcomed her, only when she looked to the Slytherin table, they were not the ones cheering, and she became momentarily confused. Almost instantly her face fell and she whipped around to glare at the hat. IT HAD DOUBLE CROSSED HER! Being able to do nothing but glare at her prideful Head of House, who was smiling fondly at her for her supposed enthusiasm to join Gryffindor's ranks, she looked ruefully over to the Slytherin table and back over to Severus and Lily, her shoulders slumping miserably as she walked silently over to her cheering table. Much to her surprise, since she hadn't really been paying attention again, she saw Sirius joking around with a group of people already, and while they'd been fighting more and more with each other over the years, he smiled happily and welcomed her like a dear friend. She frowned at him as she saw a first year that was EXACTLY how Lily had described Potter cheering for her, and urging her to sit with his new friend as well.

Quite frankly, it made her stomach turn, and she made a complete turn away from Sirius coldly and walked all the way down to the far end of the table, far away from sorting and all that nonsense, and sitting a bit off by herself. At least she'd kept that promise to herself, where as she'd have run to Cissy and broken her silence towards the sisters had she been in Slytherin. She looked over miserably to the table, only to find Bella and Cissy staring back at her with just as much shock and depression at the results. Even Severus and Lily looked sorry for her, and Lily even gave her an encouraging smile as her name was called.

Horribly enough for Severus, Lily too was named Gryffindor, though she seemed more pleased and alright with it than Maggie had. Immediately Lily trotted over and sat next to her, patting her hand with an apologetic look while looking to see where Severus was going. Maggie already knew. He was a perfect Slytherin if you got him in an intellectual conversation. Quick, calculating, rational, but somehow always able to turn the tables around in his favor with some trump card that no one else knew about, all with a slightly pleased with himself look on his features. Sure enough, the moment he sat down, the hat was on him for about a second or two before it called

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table cheered, and Maggie noticed Narcissa's eyes watching her new friend with interest, if only because it had been obvious that she'd been talking to him and Lily happily in the line. He looked over from the table once or twice, each time a little more somber himself, just as miserable that Maggie and Lily hadn't gotten into his house almost as much as Maggie was. Lily smiled at her again as the feast began and struck up a conversation, but it wasn't the same.

They should be at another table, Maggie kept thinking. Looking over, she caught the boy with the long blonde hair that Cissy had been standing near talking to Severus and frowned. Did they have to take him away from her too? She sighed dejectedly, ever waiting for the night to end so she could sleep it off and hope that it wasn't so bad in the morning.

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Ah haha. What a bad ending to that chapter. :3

I cut off at the worst times.

Anyways, if anyone's reading, please review. They make me happy inside. 3

Next chapter up will be first day of class, Slytherins and Gryffindors.

Stay tuned, and I hope you enjoy!


	4. Ch 3:: Not the Best Start

Ch.3

I do not own Harry Potter. I DO own Megghan, so please keep your mitts off her.

I have come to realize that this is going rather slowly, and for that I apologize. But unfortunately, it has to be done for things to make sense LATER rather than NOW. That being said, I'd love it if you guys left me some reviews so I can perfect/keep toning the story and making it better. :3

I'm always open to suggestions. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this next chapter as much as I enjoy writing it.

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Megghan awoke to soft sunlight on her face. This was not the awakening she'd been hoping for when she'd trudged to bed last night, not at all. It wasn't that she wasn't a morning person, she'd forced herself to acquire an internal clock that got her up every morning at seven am. But it was five thirty. Her bed had unfortunately been situated near the window last night, and she hadn't thought of closing the drapes to her bed really as many of the other girls had done. In her mind, this was all a bad dream, and she'd wake up to the soft, watery ambience of underwater light down in the Slytherin dorms.

Her father had told her they were beautiful, and a wonderful thing to wake up in the morning to, especially when something happened to be swimming past your window. She had not expected this glaring dawn smacking her in the face. Sitting up with a grunt, she scratched her head and looked out the window. She didn't think she liked being this high up. Outside the widow, she could see the grounds, and some of the other towers. It sent a shiver down her spine. No, no Megghan decided she was not a fan of heights and would much rather be on the ground. With a sigh, she knew she was now fully awake and had no prospect of getting back to sleep, and so she swung her legs over the side of the bed to start her day.

Collecting her uniform and some general bath necessities from her trunk, she yawned softly as she made her way to the girl's showers. They were nice, all stone and marble and detail, but she'd heard from other, older, girls that the Prefects bathroom was what you REALLY hoped to get into one day. Apparently it had all sorts of things in it, bath oils, relaxing stain glass windows, and what girl could resist the idea of a hot bath the size of a small pool? She chuckled at the thought and how silly it was while starting to take her own shower, but inwardly a small girlish part of her that sounded mysteriously like Narcissa in her head told her that it would be nice to lounge in something pretty like that. Girls liked to surround themselves with pretty things, didn't they? At this thought, Megghan frowned. Where had that come from? She'd never cared about being pretty before, and she sure as heck wasn't going to bother with it now.

She huffed, throwing her head back so she could scrub it properly, looking at the ceiling and wondering how she got here. Hadn't father taught her how to be a good Slytherin? He'd always claimed her sharp wit and unyielding nature would land her in the family house, but here she was, a viper among lions. It wasn't fair really. She'd even asked nicely and everything. With a sigh she grabbed her shampoo and poured some out on her hand, lathering it up into her hair with a content sigh. At least showers were still nice and warm here, and the air soon became heavy and fragrant from her shampoo, as it had been one of those expensive gifts from Cissy when they'd been out shopping with her mother once. It smelled like another country, really, all of the individual smells foreign and spicy to the senses. It was Indian, but that was all the rest that Maggie knew about it, Cissy's mother had really been the one to pick it out and show it to the girls, since they were out buying girly things and trying in vain to get Maggie to accept something feminine. It was the only thing she really indulged herself in, and father had been vaguely upset at its price tag, since Maggie would no longer use anything else. The foreign spices had simply become HER smell, and she wanted to keep it that way.

It was soothing to have the smell nearby as well, simply because Cissy had gotten it for her. Part of her heart ached, since she'd wanted so badly to stay up late into the night giggling and gossiping with the Black sisters, like many of the Gryffindor girls had last night with friends. Lily had tried to pull her into the circle, but she'd refused. Everything had been such a depressing haze last night, she smiled at silliness for not even remembering the password to the Gryffindor common room now. Oh well, she supposed if she stayed with Lily most of the time, or another group of Gryffindors, she could just simply follow behind them when THEY opened the door to get in, and learn the password that way. Once her shower was done, she turned off the water and shivered at the sudden chill, looking around at the quiet stillness. She supposed she ought to treasure having the showers to herself today, since it would likely be full of girls the next time she came in.

Dressing hastily after drying, she put her pajamas away and her towel into the girls hamper, only to stop a moment because of an audible 'pop' from inside. Peering in cautiously, she found the dirty towel gone. Raising an eyebrow, she had to admit, the Hogwarts elves were extremely efficient and bid them a silent thank you. She'd always liked House Elves, really, and understood the amount of work they did for their masters. Trotting down the stairs to the common room, she huffed to find some one already there, sitting in front of a dormant fireplace. Who in their right mind would be up this early? Creeping up silently, she frowned to see it was a female. Females always wanted to talk…..but what was this? She was reading a book. Well. She couldn't be all bad, then. Maggie quite liked books, and anyone who chose to read them in their free time had to be a good and knowledgeable person, she figured.

With a frown, she peered over, her hair falling to one side over her shoulders as she leaned to see the title. With a small grunt at her unsuccessful attempt, the girl suddenly looked up with a smile at the sound. She was older, that much was definite, and her face was round with a gentle chubbiness that made Maggie think of her grandmother almost. A very welcoming feeling, almost like a mother, even if her own mother was quite cold and severe half the time. Maybe this is what a normal family's mother was like, instead of a pureblood one? Pureblood mothers always seemed so aloof and more interested in social climbing than in a picture that their daughter drew for them in crayon.

"Ello there, love. A bit early for a little thing like you to be up and about isn't it? Me, I'm just reading up on household spells and charms you know. I'm going to be married when I graduate this year……I'm so excited I can hardly sleep anymore, ready to start a new day and get one step closer to that final day……My name's Molly, by the way, poppet," she smiled, her brown eyes sparkling with mischief while she pushed some curly beyond belief hair out of her face. Maggie blinked. She hadn't even said one word to the young woman, and yet Molly had felt the need to share more information than she actually wanted to know. A small pang of hurt and mistrust shot through her though at the thought of marriage. But despite her initial mistrust of anyone that was so happy to be shackled to a male, she sat down beside this Molly girl.

"I'm Megghan, Megghan Cromwell……the light from the window woke me up….." she introduced herself cautiously, raising an eyebrow and looking at Molly as if she were some strange creature that had been born deformed. Molly laughed, and gave her a pat on the leg, much to Maggie's discomfort. This girl was much too friendly. She must have some kind of ulterior motive.

"Well then, Miss Maggie, I'm sorry your sleep was cut short. My Arthur used to complain about that, he had a bed by the window you see. Whenever he'd forget to pull the drapes down, the sun'd wake him up at the worst times at the beginning of the year. When the time changes though in winter, it gets better. Stays dark for much longer around here," she smiled, closing her book after marking the page. Megghan blinked a few times, still a bit uncomfortable but not knowing why. Molly's eyes sparkled again, and she found herself quite disoriented and feeling a little panicked for some reason.

"Well…….I recognize you, Miss Maggie. You were that sweet little thing that sat all by herself last night. I remember, since me and the girls thought it was so odd you'd want to sit by yourself. Saw you looking across the room a lot though…," she remarked knowingly, leaning over to bump shoulders with Megghan, to which the girl only snorted.

"Yes. I wanted to be in Slytherin, really……Papa always said I'd make a wonderful Slytherin, and my best friends are over there, and we had a bit of a disagreement the other day, and now I can't even go apollogize and talk to them like I want because I'm in silly old Gryffindor," she huffed, blinking at herself in shock once she vented. Looking over to Molly apologetically, she immediately felt the need to make sure this older girl didn't think poorly of her.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry Molly, I didn't---well, yes, I DID mean it that way…..but that doesn't mean Gryffindor isn't a good house too, I mean…..Lily's here, so that's alright I suppose, but I just wanted so badly to fit in with my friends and all the people Mother wanted me to meet…..it was so important for me to be with the right group….I have no idea how I'm going to write home and tell them I didn't make it into the social circle they expected of me," she sighed, letting her fears pour out of her mouth and onto Molly's ears. For some reason, the older girl just smiled, lines around her eyes crinkling pleasantly as she gave Maggie's shoulder a squeeze.

"It'll all turn out, poppet. Arthur came from a good family, Weasely family, and his family was just fine with him being a Gryffindor. Besides, that lot would chew you up and spit you out faster than you could say Stupefy. I don't rightfully know you yet, but you seem too honest for their lot," she encouraged, which only made a tiny flare of distrust and anger spark up in Maggie's heart. While this motherly young woman was comforting in a way, she didn't like that she assumed everyone in Slytherin was dishonest. Were all of her fellow Gryffindor's this way? She hoped not, or she might be getting into a lot of tussles that she didn't need.

Soon after that, Molly left to go visit the owlry and send her 'Arthur' a little letter, and noise was starting to come from upstairs in the dorms. Maggie sighed. She decided it wouldn't be a good idea to confide in anyone else that she didn't want to be here really, as she stared into the dormant fireplace. She didn't realize how long she was staring at it, her mind wandering and imagining all the things she could've done to change her fate, until she jumped in surprise as a hand touched her shoulder lightly. Looking up quickly, she saw that Lily had been the culprit, smiling down at her angelically. Lily was her only savior in all of this, she figured. The girl was the only friend that understood Maggie's mild depression this early in the year, and seemed determined to alleviate it.

"Maggie, you want to get to breakfast a bit early? Some of the girls are going down, since some older students told us that the earlier you get your schedule, the better to not have to wait in line forever and be late," she informed with a bright smile, an infectious smile that spread over onto Maggie's own face as she nodded, getting up and dusting her skirt off to make it sit right on her again. Following Lily out the portrait hole, she found a small group of girls waiting outside for them and grew almost immediately defensive. On the outside, she was all smiles as Lily linked arms with her happily, to which she actually did beam with pride. Of all the girls, Lily had chosen HER to walk with more exclusively than the others. But that lingering notion in the back of her mind that these girls would frown upon Slytherin house kept nagging at the back of her consciousness.

Her first big hurdle of the day came when they got to the moving stairs. Maggie froze in place, making the group come to an immediate stop, and warranting a worried look from Lily.

"Maggie, what's wrong?"

Megghan was unable to say anything as she stared at the hanging stairs, some of which were moving. Craning her neck to peer over the edge, she found that there were multiple floors of empty space between the stairs and the bottom floor, and it would be an incredibly nasty drop all the way down. If she hadn't been fond of heights before, she would definitely not be comfortable with them now. Attempting to look brave in front of Lily, she let go of the girl's arm and shakily held onto the railing of the stairs, looking over the side again and immediately regretting it as the stairs moved on her while she was on them alone. With a yelp of alarm, she dropped flat on the stairs and wrapped her arms firmly around a pillar, clinging for dear life as the stairs groaned and messed with the frightened first year.

"OH MERLIN, LILY MAKE IT STOP, IT'S TRYING TO KILL ME!" she caterwauled, shivering as the stairs wobbled back and forth, as if they were enjoying shaking around a bit, just to make her even more terrified of them. Maggie decided that whatever Headmaster had decided to install stairs that had a mind of their own into the castle, deserved to be shot with a muggle rifle. Papa used those for hunting sometimes, and they were grisly little machines in Maggie's opinion, and she had never wished that another creature would die in such a way until now. Lily looked on in distress, as the stairs were moving just fast enough that should anyone attempt to hop onto them from the top, they were sure to slip and fall quite a ways down, and nobody wanted to fall off the edge no matter how scared their friend might be.

"Maggie, it's okay! Calm down, you'll be alright, if you ignore them the stairs will stop moving, I'm sure of it!" she reassured, trying to bolster Maggie's confidence, to no avail. Maggie was on the verge of tears and well on her way into a fit of hysterics as her grip slipped from the shaking, sending her tumbling down a few steps before she latched onto another rung with yelp.

"ohmerlin,ohmerlin,ohmerlin,ohmerlin….." she gasped, muttering to herself over and over, eyes shut tight and completely missing a soft 'tap' of someone jumping onto the stairs from the bottom, much safer, end. Then, out of the blue, she felt a hard rap to the back of the head, which shocked her into silence, and consequently made the stairs slow down and lock back into place upon seeing their plaything no longer making funny noises. Looking up teary eyed to see whom her half-savior, half-tormenter was, she recognized the boy with platinum blonde hair from the platform.

He was looking down at her with a mixed look of disbelief and disdain, crossing his arms with a frown.

"That is no way for a lady to act, Miss Cromwell. Narcissa told me many things about you, but she never mentioned you were a coward," he quipped, smirking as he noticed a spark of defiance come back into Maggie's eyes. With a huff, she shakily stood up, frowning in such a way that it almost looked like an angry pout. Lucius caught himself thinking it was an almost endearing look, if not a little stubborn and embarrassed one. Still trembling a little, she took a steadying breath and stood up.

"I'm no coward……I just have a healthy sense of self-preservation when it comes to heights," she shot back, to which he only chuckled, rolling his eyes and wiping her eyes with the cuff of his robes.

"Yes, keep telling yourself that, Gryffindor. What will Bellatrix think when she hears that her little Maggie is a cowardly lion?" he tutted as she pushed away his sleeve stubbornly. With that, he smirked and continued on his way, sneering coldly at the rest of the small group of Gryffindor girls, all of whom clamored down the steps to check on Maggie. Lily frowned and gave her a hug.

"Maggie, you had me worried when you slipped! You have to stay calm from now on, okay, or the stairs will only bother you like this again!" she scolded, to which Maggie found herself uncomfortably shuffling from one foot to another, and looking down shamefully. While Lucius's goading had made her feel determined to get over it, Lily's worried scolding somehow made her feel like she'd done something terribly wrong and let her down in some terrible way.

"I'm sorry…..I really don't like heights…..I'll make sure I'll be braver next time, Lily," she mumbled, to which Lily smiled warmly and linked arms with her again, the group giving her rubs on the back and smiles to encourage her as well as they kept walking towards the Great Hall. For some reason, Maggie couldn't help but feel she was being coddled. She wasn't entirely sure if she liked the feeling yet, but decided to forgive it since it had started with Lily, and the girl only meant what was best for Maggie. It was still highly embarrassing though. But as they sat down and started making their breakfast plates, all the girls seemed to still have their attention locked on Maggie, to which she was oblivious as she dug into some scrambled eggs, wishing she had some ketchup to smother them in. It was Lily who finally got her attention.

"Maggie……why did that Malfoy boy talk to you? We couldn't really hear the two of you from the top of the stairs, but he's supposed to be bad news, you know. Last night some of the older Gryffindors were warning us all about him and his friends, you're not friends with him are you? Oh please tell me you're not, I wouldn't want you getting hurt just because you didn't know his reputation!" she said conspiratorially, making all the girls they were sitting with nod and move in closer to gossip with one another. Another girl piped up.

"Last year was a little better since he wasn't a prefect, but now everyone knows he's going to be even worse! I heard last night he gave a Hufflepuff detention already just for LOOKING at him funny," a girl Maggie did not know but was about a year older than them informed. Maggie frowned. She hadn't gotten that vibe from Lucius, and Cissy generally didn't have that bad of judgment about people. She shrugged noncommittally and grabbed the sausage, brushing a generous amount of meat onto her plate and digging into it. Chewing what was in her mouth quickly and swallowing the almost painful lump of food, she coughed at the effort and took a drink of pumpkin juice before answering.

"I dunno.….he's not really a friend, Cissy kno---" she started, but was interrupted by the loud relived sigh of Lily, who leaned on her as if she was hearing the news that no, in fact her father was not beaten to death, it was just a slight bruise.

"Oh thank GOODness, Maggie. That entire group he hangs with is supposed to be a bad sort of people, I'm so relieved that you're not friends with him just because you're not happy with your sorting," she remarked, to which Maggie froze as if someone had just outed her for being a serial killer of some sort. All eyes were on her for a completely different reason now. Another nameless girl spoke up in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't you want to be a Gryffindor? We're the best house there is! Everyone's trustworthy here, and you'll never find a bad sort of people in our house," she remarked with surprise, to which Maggie was a bit irked. She couldn't find it in herself to blame Lily, as the girl hadn't known she didn't want anyone to know that tidbit of information, but found herself quite angry with all the other closed-minded ninnies.

"Now see here, there are some wonde--"

"Gwen, that's not entirely true! There are SOME people in Slytherin that aren't so bad, our friend Severus wouldn't hurt anyone at all like the rest of the Slytherins! And what about that dreadful Potter boy? I heard he was teasing all sorts of students last night," she huffed, earning a pensive stare from Maggie from being interrupted twice. In the back of her head, that voice that sounded quite a bit like Cissy gently reminded her that she had other good friends in Slytherin too, but she kept quiet. She didn't want to be rude, and Lily had made a good point anyways, and who would believe her that the Black sisters were not all bad? They'd consider the pair of them guilty by association with the Malfoy boy alone.

As they were batting this back and forth and eating, the stern looking hen-woman came over to their table with a warm smile and a stack of parchment.

"Girls, if I may have your names? We don't want to be late for our first day, do we?" she chided fondly, making light of the gossiping girls and how already her youngest Gryffindors seemed to be adjusting well. Lily got hers first and starting looking over her schedule, nudging Maggie whom only grunted and held up a single finger as if to say 'gimmie a minute' so she could finish scarfing down this WONDERFUL sausage. What were these spices?! It was divine! As she made a motion to stab another sasuage with her fork, Lily batted her hand and gave her a stern look to which she groaned and finished what she had quickly to turn to the professor.

"Cromwell, Professor…..um…..Professor?" she floundered, finding she could not for the life of her remember their Head of House's name. Wow, she had really been depressed last night to not remember ANY important information about her house at all. Did she even remember how to get back to the Fat Lady's portrait? She nodded to herself, warranting a strange look from her peers, but knowing she could. The old woman laughed lightly, and plucked out her schedule, giving her a pat on the shoulder as if she was seven and had just done something adorable. Maggie instantly disliked her.

"Professor McGonagall, my dear. I look forward to all of you being in my class this year," she smiled, and then walked away to another group of dining Gryffindors. Maggie gave her a suspicious look that followed her all the way down the table until Lily laughed at her antics and nudged her.

"You need to stop making faces like that, Maggie. You're going to end up looking like Severus if you keep doing that! What classes did you get?" she asked excitedly, grabbing Maggie's schedule and comparing it to her own, frowning with a 'humph' and then squealing as she found a match.

"Oh! We have Double Potions together! Isn't that wonderful?! We have it this afternoon after lunch! Oh, we have Charms this morning too, how fun!" she remarked, finding two other classes during the week that they shared in common. The only classes they didn't have with one another were Herbology, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Lily wasn't taking Arithmancy, but Maggie knew she had to because of her father's business plans for her in the future.

The rest of the first day went by in a blur of sorts. Charms that morning was had with the Ravenclaws, not a bad class and a little interesting but not very much, and the rest of classes had that 'first day' doldrums about them. It was boring, being told almost exactly the same rules in every class. That was, until after lunch.

* * *

Maggie sighed as she walked down to the cool dungeons with Lily in tow, along with a few other Gryffindors. Echoing down the halls, she paid close attention at one point to hear Sirius's laughter, but otherwise ignored him. They'd been on bad terms before now, growing farther and farther apart the more he bought into being a Gryffindor only to irk his family, and she for choosing Bella and Cissy as her best friends over him. He'd been sore on that point for years, though he came up with other excuses why Maggie wasn't worth his time.

As they walked down the dark corridors to Potions, Maggie finally felt at ease for the first time today. Everything was calm about her now, and her natural wildness toned down into serene peace, much like a wildcat that's been domesticated. It wasn't because of the class. Oh no, she was horrible at Potions no matter how much she loved it, she couldn't even grow plants for potions since everything green she touched that was not an animal withered and died under her care. It was mostly just the coolness of the dungeons, the silence and the echoes, and the longing to live here with the other Slytherins.

They walked in, only to be whistled at by Sirius and the boy Maggie assumed was Potter. Maggie threw Sirius a scathing glare and he stopped short with a frown of his own, realizing that it was her with Lily. He gave her an offended look, remembering her snub from last night, and shook his head. Some people were too stubborn to realize when they were being given an open invitation into the cool crowd, he figured. He'd forgiven all of her past behavior with Cissy and Bella last night and offered her a seat, which she had refused much to his chagrin. Here she was now, snubbing him again as she pulled Lily over as far away as possible, more towards the back. Looking to the front of the room, Lily sighed wistfully, wanting to be front and center for the professor's attention and not in the dark corner of the room.

Though when they arrived, Maggie huffed with annoyance to find someone already there, leaning against the back wall and looking at the ingredients with unmasked lust in his eyes. It was then that her eyes adjusted to the low light in the back of the room and she smiled to see it was Severus whom occupied the space. Pulling an extra chair over, she made room for both herself and Lily, all without Severus ever noticing they were there.

"Hey Sev," Lily greeted him with a smile that could dazzle millions, and both Severus and Maggie seemed to bask in it like Lily was some personification of God or something, shining holy light upon them. Then Maggie realized the smile was not directed at her, and Severus realized someone had been basking in his Lily other than him. The two of them momentarily glared jealously at one another until Lily laughed at their expressions, at which the two of them became lovesick worshippers once more.

"H-hello, Lily…..Maggie," he greeted, treating Maggie much like an afterthought he knew he had to address. Fiddling with his overly long sleeves nervously, he looked up at Lily shyly.

"Do you want to be partners today? I heard from an earlier class we're going to be making a potion instead of all that boring nonsense we've heard all day," he perked up, to which Maggie smiled this time, silently commending his enthusiasm. But then she frowned. Wait. No.

"Nooooo Lily's going to work with me, I need it. I am going to end up blowing up half the dungeons if she's not there to watch me," she panicked, receiving a 'yeah right you wanna keep her to yourself' look from Severus, whom sat back against the wall again and sulked. Lily looked over in surprise.

"That can't be true, Maggie. You were so good today in our other classes! You managed to levitate a table almost all the way to the ceiling when we were all working on feathers in Charms," Lily said in disbelief, assuming that her friends were just coming up with excuses to pal around with her. She frowned, thinking both of them were being childish, and another random Gryffindor girl came and asked Lily to work with her instead, giving Severus a scathing look for being Slytherin. Lily looked between the girl and her two friends, and nodded.

"You'll both have to do without me today. You don't have to lie to get me to work with you, Maggie," she quipped, and Maggie sat back down looking dumbfounded and very insulted as Lily walked back up to the front of the classroom. Severus snorted and huffed moodily, knocking her with his foot roughly.

"Good going, you drove her off," he snapped with irritation. Maggie turned her indignation on him, since she wouldn't have dreamed of arguing with Lily.

"I drove her off? You're kidding right? She was probably driven off by Mr. Dark and Gloomy over here, and yes Severus, I mean you," she quipped, getting a stubborn set to her jaw and a spark in her eyes. Oddly enough, she was feeling more like herself than she had the past day and a half. He glared venomously at her, making her shiver at the intensity of those bottomless black eyes.

"Oh please, Lily's used to the way I am. But you had to go and lie to her and exaggerate things, you stupid Gryffindor," he retorted. She gasped in indignation and smacked his chest roughly.

"Take it back! I am not some stupid Gryffindor. I would've rather been a HUFFLEPUFF instead of this, and I don't even know what the bloody hell a Hufflepuff is! I've been defending Slytherin house all bloody morning, so you Mr. Snape, can go toss yourself. I am not a liar, and if you EVER refer to me as a Gryffindor again I will make sure you meet a painful and untimely end," she ranted back, glaring back at him just as severely as he was at her. Their faces kept getting steadily closer and closer, invading one another's space uncomfortably as they argued.

"Oh really? How do I know you're not lying about that too? You're just like everyone else, you want to fawn all over Lily and keep her with your crowd! Why would you ever deign to care that she actually had a friend before she came here? You can't even keep your own friends, the way you were blubbering on the tra---"

SMACK.

Severus didn't even finish his sentence before their raised voices caught everyone, including the professor's, attention and even then Maggie slapped him soundly across the face as tears littered the corners of her eyes. Without realizing that all eyes were on them, she leaned in close to Severus, her shoulders shaking with both anguish and rage, and her eyes had a deadly tint to them, making Severus pause a moment before reacting. He suddenly realized he'd done something very, very stupid.

"I wasn't defending Slytherin house just because of them, I was stupid enough to think that we were beginning to be friends too, but obviously I was mistaken………..that……was a very cruel thing to say Severus," she hissed, taking out all the pain and frustration of the day on him in a single, deathly quiet sentence. He looked shocked and backed up away from her a little bit, then his eyes took on a beaten puppy look of remorse, his shoulders slumping and his hot temper waning much faster than normal. The professor stalked over and frowned at both of them, his arms crossed over his portly belly while his kind albeit simpleton eyes gave them a reproachful look.

"Mr. Snape, Miss Cromwell, if you have issues with one another I'd appreciate it if it was taken care of outside my class. Be that as it may, in an attempt for the two of you to put aside your differences, I'm assigning you two as PERMANENT partners for the year. If I hear another peep out of the two of you, it'll be detention for both of you," he warned, to which both of them looked down and mumbled an affirmative.

After the initial burst of interest and a concerned look from Lily, class began as it normally would have, and they started making a simple cure for boils. Severus worked dutifully and quickly while Maggie organized all the ingredients for him in the order he'd need them, and all would've gone well in silence had Severus's guilty conscience not forced him to act. Looking over at her, he put the cutting knife in her hand, and she looked at him like he'd grown another head.

"……Go on and try, I'm sure you're not as bad as you say you are. Lily said you did well earlier today in classes, it's the same thing as Charms really, it requires a steady hand and concentration," he urged, and somehow she knew it was as close to an apology as she would warrant from him at the moment. In the meantime, Maggie looked down at the knife as if it was the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen. With a deep breath, she chopped up some of the next ingredient and carefully, oh so carefully, measured out how much she needed and dropped it into their simmering cauldron with her eyes tightly shut. Opening one eye experimentally, she looked over at the potion to see it had not blown up yet. Severus smiled encouragingly at her, and she gained a little bit of confidence from it.

But this confidence came with a price, as she quickly read the next few instructions, Severus gasped as she began to add some Dragonfly Wing before the crushed Scarab legs. As soon as they hit the liquid, it turned a brakish charcoal color and their fumes changed from a pleasant odorless yellow to a dark smoky color that smelled most foul.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, MAGGIE!?!!? You ruined it! You were supposed to stir four times COUNTER clockwise, wait, and then add Scarab legs, NOT Dragonfly Wings!" he screeched, as everyone nearby began to clamber away from the horrible smell and bubbling cauldron. Maggie looked affronted and a bit hurt from his lack of encouragement, losing all her confidence again.

"What does it matter which way you stir it?! What's the difference, the instructions have them both in the same step, why does the order they're dropped in matter?!" she barked back, Professor Slughorn hurried back to their station and frowned at the both of them.

"What did I tell the two of you about arguing? Detention, both of you, for as long as it takes for the two of you to make amends and stop your bickering. Come now, surely your potion isn't THAT unsalvage…..ab….le…." he dwindled off, as Maggie had begun stirring it COUNTER clockwise and muttering obscene things about men and how they had to have everything THEIR way as the Professor watched with horror. In fact, the way you stirred was apparently VERY important, and how hard you did so. Maggie, for example, was stirring much to fast and too many times, causing the potion to overheat and turn a swirling purple-black, until finally exploding as she accidentally tipped it to one side.

Unfortunately for the Slytherin's working together next to them, the ruined potion exploded all over them, covering them in sticky purple-black goo that smelled very much like someone had taken the corpse of a deceased cat, rolled it in centaur manure, scattred skunk pheromones on it and let it rot in a sweathouse for about three months. Her sheepish grin was met with two very angry glares from the Slytherins were shot her way, a stern look from her Professor, and a mixed look of shock and utter disbelief from Severus.

"Oops?" she said sheepishly, her look apologetic while Severus practically pulled his hair out from his misfortune of being tied to someone so worthless at potions for the rest of the entire year.

* * *

Lawl. I always see fics where someone is good at either potions or herbology. So I decided Maggie would be terrible at both. She is like…..Neville, times a hundred. O 3o Lol.

Next up will be detention with Professor Slughorn!

As always, I hope someone is reading this and reviews for me, I'd love the feedback. :3 After detention, we'll be making a bit of a jump where things will start changing a little, so something to look forward to.

Also, I'd appreciate it if you all would leave feedback on if she seems Mary Sue or not. I am hoping to god I'm not making one, but it's just always safe to check with the readers.

Please review, and I hope you enjoyed it!


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